Author's NOTE:

I'll cut to the chase so you guys can get to reading this piece. I'd like to say I'm very proud of this piece, thus far. It's a side project, but it's one I'm putting time into because the person I'm writing it for lent me 15 dollars when I was broke as crap. And I'm still broke, so he said, instead of paying him back, I can just owe him a favor. Well it's been...what? A year now? And his favor was simple: Write a Romance / Gothic Horror StarFox Story about the team crossing pathes with Vampires.

He originally desired Fox and Fara (he's a fan of the Comic line) to become vampires and ..er... well, fight crime, undead. Well, okay I guess. I knew it would be difficult to give a hokey plot the attention and power it needed to be a potent piece. There's so much depth to the Damned that I didn't want it to be some sloppy Buffy/Angel or Blade ripoff. I didn't want Fox to jump out and use laser eyes, throw some sort of Japanese Sword around the room, the climb up the walls, that just wasn't going to cut it, because I think my friend's kindness and his favor deserves more respect than that.

Being the Gothic Horror whore that I am, I decided to take the request, take the depth of Gothic Horror telling and mix them into something that would knock your socks off.

So, long story short, in this story line, Fox and Fara have been married for a short while now. They have a Daughter who is 4 years older than their newest little boy. My friend, who adores StarFox is best friends with another StarFox fan, a friend of mine who roleplays Nicky McCloud, Fox's sister. In this story, I begin with Nicky, telling a story that's surrounded by a forboding (sp?) sense of evil and ... well, I know Fox and Fara aren't evil. The Curse of the damned is evil, however. It can take a good being and wear them down with the inner beast and curse that wears heavily on their humanity. Only the strongest of will and the purest of mind can even attempt to combat the simple bloodlust, anger and loathing that came from an epic tale of God's Arch Angels cursing Caine, murderer of his brother Abel, the first documented murder of all time.

Only someone so purely good inside can maintain their humanity for all time and use their curse as a gift by night. So I thought I'd try my hand at something hokey and something with folklore fantasy fame and mix it together with a serrious frame of mine.

Whether it sucks or it's a masterpiece is up to you, the reader. Please review this with exactly what you feel on your mind. Don't sugar coat it. If my spelling sucks, okay. But if 30 people only mention that one thing, and everyone says "Gee thanks, Faulkner, another story with bad spelling and crappy grammer!" I'm still going to wonder if the story itself touched anyone. I'm keeping the sex and actual Gore to a minimum. I'll describe things like blood in a manner that will be less offensive, like "Life giving, sanguine dropplettes" or something. Vampires aren't about blood. It's about indulging in the sensual, passionate caress of something more than what Mortals can understand.... Life and Death itself. Finally, I plan to update this piece, two chapters at a time. But i'm keeping them seperated for the sake of archival. So without further adu, here's the Prologue, and the first Chapter will be right behind it.

You wanna yack at me? RockstarTravisty At AOL dot com or CarnalSolstice at AOL dot com. Yes, I know, Travisty is spelled wrong, lol. I did it that way so I wouldn't have 900 IMs about my musical projects at once. 25 IMs, maaaaybe, but 900 is rediculous XD

Now, read!

-kit

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The Curse.

Nichole Jaye McCloud was the 19 year old sister to Fox McCloud Junior, a name too many people knew. Together, these siblings lost their parents, and fought the war of Lylat until the point where it was taking the toll on their very souls. With every passing day, the wars and bloody waged battles came closer to their ultimate conclusion and with every day, the two were closer to finding peace in their hearts.

Nichole's fiancé, Joshua, placed his paws so very softly upon her cheeks, touching his nose to her own, his lips slanting across her own and it made her smile. She was going to see her parents today and it's the first time in a great many months that she had good news to bring them. Fox's new wife, Fara Marie Phoenix was due to bare a son any day now. Nicky, as the family and closest friends affectionately called her, was psyching herself up for the trip out to the cemetery. She couldn't drive when she was in tears, so she had to get it out of her system before heading out there.

Josh opened the convertible door, giving her a final hug and a pat on the rear, before they shared one last kiss. With that, she slid into the leather interior of the automobile and grinned up at her mate, before pulling the safety belt over her body, pulling the shifter into gear and easing off the lot. He even stood in the driveway and waved to her departure. She'd have brought him with her like last time, but work wasn't always forgiving.

The autumn leaves fluttered to the ground on the mountain road, leading up to Oak Hill Cemetery. They amassed in splotches of oranges, yellows and reds, at the speed she traversed, making an earthy, fall motif of swirling tie dye, and a clustery-flutter in her rearview mirror. She tried to keep her mind off of the things she would say until she got there, because doing so would make the drive painfully slow. Music only served to ease the travel time.

The large iron gates were open, allowing her to pull into the large cobblestone paved circle around a fountain which shimmered with the reflection of the twilight hues of sunswept crimson. Nichole lowered her sunshades down over her muzzle, stepping from the car, keys in her palm. A soft breeze rustled loose leaves from their colorful autumn patches, which fluttered to the ground about her as she walked towards her parent's plot. Everything felt weird, like a mishmash of emotions.

She always had strong emotions about doing this and so she stifled the oddly growing feeling in her gut. The plot was up ahead and she knelt down before it, no offering in hand, this evening. Her head was swirling and every fiber in her body was telling her to be anywhere else right now, but she had no reason to be upset on this visit. This afternoon, she was bringing good news for a change, so she had no reason to be depressed or upset. Again, those instinctual emotions were buried in her gut and forgotten.

A forlorn expression touched her soft, porcelain features. Her eyes darted quietly over the letters written on the grave marker, the epitaph reflecting in those sullen, jade irises. Her chest welled up with a heavy heart and she released a sigh of despair trying to fight off the strangely discouraging feeling of depression. What was wrong with her?? She had such good news to bring! She decided that simply blurting it out would help to clear these oddly negative emotions.

"Well Mom, Dad, I'm back. Josh and I are good, I'm sure you already know that. But you know I still come to tell you how things are anyhow. That kinda," She paused. She was never great at monologues, let alone speeches of any sort. "That kinda brings me to the reason I'm here. You're about to be Grandparents again. Fara wants to name him James or something close to that, but they've not really decided on anything yet. She wants to see how she feels when she looks upon him for the first time.

"Don't worry, they didn't cheat. They just know it's a boy because she's carrying so low. You know how that is. She's dreaming of a daughter, so according to old wives tales, it means she's having a boy. But I saw the sonogram, it's definitely a McCloud boy, you can tell by his ears and... you know, that little part that proves he's a boy," She added with a light giggle, pausing again to sigh. Something in her gut was really bothering her, but she was trying to stifle those feelings to finish what she had come to do.

"I miss you guys. I mean, you know. I miss you dad. I wish to see you in my dreams, again, mom. I had that dream again the other night. The one where you said something about helping you to keep Fox and his baby safe or something. How am I supposed to stand strong at your side? Show me the way, a sign or something. I'd do anything to meet you face to face, you know that. Both of you." She paused again, glancing up from the grave marker to the setting sun, before lowering her gaze once more.

"It's kinda neat knowing I'm going to be Aunt Nicky. Josh and I have finally set a date," She said this last part with a giddy-sort of grin. "I guess I shoulda made that the first thing I said, but I also wanted to tell you about Fara. She's due any day now, you know? So yeah, We're thinking of tying that knot in just a mere 114 days. Yeah, I'm counting them down the way I used to count the chocolates of the advent calendar when I was like, 9. It's exciting," She added, her sigh now one of content.

Suddenly, there was a sharp cold feeling that pierced her from behind. It was like ice, sliding between her ribs from behind, causing her eyes to glaze over in shock and distance. She suddenly found her second wind, although it wasn't in the form of a breath. Her right elbow drew tight and instinctively launched backwards, but everything about her mind was a swirling cloud. She subconsciously knew she was launching her right elbow back, but her body was falling into a dreamlike state.

From her hunched over position, her knee collided with someone's shin. She tried to gasp for air but there was nothing but burning in her chest. And yet, the burning sensation was doused with an icy feeling that was almost relieving. The burning feeling was so dull that she had to question the reality of the situation. Was this a dream again?

She could see her mother standing over the plot, tall and proud next to her father, but there was no shining light behind them, and there was no heavenly light around them, so it had to be a hallucination. She must have been day dreaming, right? Her equilibrium disappeared as her body spilled backwards. The last thing she could hear was chortling. Her head lolled back, and she felt weightless. She was free, her last breath was restricted but she felt beyond that.

She wasn't elated, no. That depressing feeling was at her gut, just beneath the fire and ice sensation, but it was so far away. It was like feeling the coldest chill through a muffled medium. It was like holding a snowball, wrapped through a mitten. Her eyes fluttered shut, pushing the glazed, watery substance out of the corner of her eyelid, forcing an accidental teardrop to race over the fur of her face, down her muzzle and bead up at the corner of her mouth. As her head floated backwards, her body collapsing to the dusty earth, the tear shifted direction and ran back, over her cheek, stopping at the tip of her ear.

Before it could touch the ground, her consciousness was void of anything. The toxic agent on the tip of the dagger that pierced her right lung was now gripping her mortal shell. The husk that was once a beautiful, young female... a pilot, a friend, a mate, a sister, an aunt. The light that represented her life was nearly extinguished. Only the dull sigh of the flame that was a tiny little orange ember on the edge of the wick now fought to keep from being extinguished. It smoldered and gripped and sizzled, causing the lightest whisp of smoke to emanate like a plea from that wick.

Her sunshades fell from her eyes, causing her eyes to flutter open, with a distant gaze. Those obsidian orbs, partially obscured by sandy bangs, now dilated, stairing directly through her new captor. Only the subconscious corner of her mind recognized his detestable visage. And deep down in the hidden corner of her mind, she was shocked and disgusted. Perhaps it was just a reflex action, but as the last conscious breath of air passed out of her throat, she muttered something that sounded like, "You....."

It was all she could do, now. Her mind fled into the depths of complete unconsciousness to escape the misery of that being, hulking over her form, glaring down at her with a hateful gaze. The slumber came over her form, shielding her from everything.

(next)

Chapter -1- Jaye.